"The first time I walked into Burberry, the woman just said, 'Turn around, go away,'" Cara remembers. Finally, Burberry's Christopher Bailey (who succeeded Angela Ahrendts as CEO) hired her for the brand's spring 2011 campaign.

Bailey was reportedly "so seduced by her energy that he thought that she would be the perfect person to represent the brand." Seemingly overnight, she became the face of the British luxury fashion house.